


Déjà vu

by thottysatori



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Gang World, American setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-26 23:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17150822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thottysatori/pseuds/thottysatori
Summary: He knew that his love brought bad luck to those who didn’t deserve it. He knew that involving others in his outside life could only bring bad fortune. He knew all of these things, yet he couldn’t stop himself from getting attached to that pretty Japanese exchange student who sat in front of him in one of his classes.





	Déjà vu

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AkaashisBitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkaashisBitch/gifts).



> THIS FIC IS A SECRET SANTA GIFT TO THE ONLY AN ONLY QUEEN MIRANDA !!! @AkaashisBitch ON AO3 !! HOPE YOU ENJOY :)

**_2 years ago_ **

_“Haijime! Watch out!"_

_The said man turned around, face baked with sweat. His legs were weak under his body and he could barely breathe. The brunette was instantly thrown onto the floor as a loud bang resonated throughout the area. The dirty floor felt cold against his back. A massive weight was crushing his chest, restricting air. Little by little, he felt a warmth spread progressively across his body. From his heart to his ribcage, down to the tip of his very fingers. A harsh metallic smell filled the air, and the room was dead silent._

_He soon found out that the warmth he felt all over himself was blood, and that the massive weight on his chest was a body._

_A familiar body._

_He screamed until his lungs gave out on him. He cried until his eyes dried up on him. He stayed there until the rest of the members had to physically haul him from the dead man._

_“Why...” he thought, “Why did you have to leave me…”_

_-_

**Present day**

He was so screwed.

It was like one of those slow-motion moments you see in the movies where one’s life flashes before their eyes, moments before their death. You don’t realize it until it’s too late, so all you can do is just watch it unfold and not be able to do a single thing about it.

That’s exactly what Iwaizumi felt like when he opened up his backpack only to find out that he’d brought the wrong folder with him.

Call him overdramatic, but he was a busy man with little to no time to get stuff done. So, when the busy student finally had the time to make up all of his missing work only to not even bring it to school, he was certainly irritated. Anyone would be in that type of situation.

But it got even worse.

The coffee maker in his kitchen broke earlier that morning, leaving him to go to the very _expensive_ café across the street where he used up the remainder of his pocket money on a single cup of coffee, which in his opinion, didn’t even taste that good.

So here he was, in his seat, in the class that he hated the most, with none of his work on him and a very terrible aftertaste in his mouth.

He was definitely screwed.

“Good morning class. May I have everyone’s attention please.” His professor groaned in the same monotone voice he used every day. Chatter quieted down, and a great number of heads turned to the front of the classroom. Iwaizumi decided to ignore him and pulled out his laptop.

“Today I’d like to introduce to you a new student. He’s from Japan and he came here through an exchange program. His name is Tooru. You can go sit in that empty seat right there,” he pointed to the empty seat right in front of his, “now, would you please pass forward your-.”

A small sigh escaped his lips as he put on his headphones. _Great. Another addition to this hell hole of a class._

The said student started making his way up to where his new seat was. Iwaizumi paid him no attention and continued on with what he was doing previously.

About halfway through the class, any work that was being attempted to be completed was interrupted by a tap on his arm.

Irritability plastered over his features, he shoved his headphones off his ears. “What?”

“Is that any way to treat a brand-new foreign exchange student?”

He pulled the laptop screen down lightly and peered over the top. The fresh addition to the class was turned around in his seat and staring back at him. He almost laughed at the pouty expression on his face but immediately stopped himself once he got a good look at what the new student looked like.

He probably had one of the prettiest faces he’d ever seen. Vibrant brown eyes complimented his delicate features, and the fluffy brown hair on top of his head was a nice addition to the overall look.

He shifted slightly forward in his seat. “What do you want?”

“Do you think you can explain this unit?” He gestured to a block of text on his textbook, “I’m having a little trouble understanding it.”

“What don’t you get?”

Getting up from his chair, the foreigner placed the textbook upside down on the desk space and pointed to a section on the page that read _6.4 Fictitious Forces and Non-Inertial Frames: The Coriolis Force. “_ What does it mean when it says ‘centrifugal force’? These textbooks are a little confusing.”

Turning the textbook to the very last few pages, he gestured to all of the vocabulary words that were listed. “If you go to the back of pretty much any textbook, there’ll be a glossary with vocab words that you can look up.”

Right under the section with all the words beginning with C, the term _centrifugal force_ was located towards the top of the page.

“A fictitious force that tends to throw an object off when the object is rotating in a non-inertial frame of reference,” he read off of the paper. “I think if you read the example about the merry-go-round, you’ll probably understand it a little better.” He flipped the book back to the section they were going over and pointed to a block of text on the bottom.

Reading through the small blocks of text, his eyes lit up in understanding. “Thanks a lot!” He praised, “What’s your name? My name is Tooru Oikawa.”

“I’m Hai- Ian. My name is Ian.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Ian! I’ll be looking forward to working with you during my stay.” He smiled at him before turning around, leaving the man completely dumbfounded.

For the rest of the class period, he didn’t have it in himself to concentrate. The back of Oikawa’s head was way more appealing to him than the lecture up in the front of the classroom.

 

-

“Is it okay if I sit with you?”

The first half of the day went by with a breeze and lunchtime eventually rolled around. Sat in his usual spot on a lunch table outside in the courtyard, he watched with anticipation as the new student approached him.

“Help yourself.”

The brunette sat right across from him and pulled out a neatly packed bento and some milk bread. He too pulled out his lunch which consisted of a slice of pizza and some soda.

The two sat in silence for quite a while. Distant chatter could be heard from nearby tables and sounds of trees rustling filled the air.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are you majoring in?” Oikawa broke the silence, curiously gazing up at him through his meal.

“Engineering Physics. What about you?”

“This might sound weird to you, but I’m a huge space nerd, believe it or not. Back in Japan, I’m studying astronomy, and I came here because my course offered me a chance to study abroad!” He beamed, excitement present in his eyes.

They conversed back and forth for a while, from how his transition to America went to what their favorite movies were. Despite just recently meeting each other, he found himself able to communicate smoothly. Oikawa kept the conversation going and always had something to say.

“You like Godzilla?”

He stared curiously at the Godzilla phone case that was in Iwaizumi’s hands. He was reading an article on his phone when it was snatched out of his grasp.

“Hey give it back!”

He reached over the circular table and snatched it right out of his hands, leaving him sitting there like a child who got his favorite toy taken away.

“I just wanted to see it! I didn’t quite take you for the nerd type.”

Choking on his drink, he shot him a glare and crammed his phone into his pocket. “It was a joke! I’m a huge nerd too, especially for aliens.”

“Aliens?”

“Yeah! I definitely think they’re real. I even have a whole bookcase in my room back home dedicated to solely Alien movies!”

Never having heard a remark so ridiculous in his life, he had to repress a laugh. By the look on his face, he seemed entirely serious. The conversation kept going for a while until it slowly died down to silence.

A chill racked throughout his entire body and a cold gust of wind went by him. He stopped what he was doing to glance up at Oikawa who was finishing up the last of his milk bread.

“I need to head out to my next class,” He announced, packing up his belongings, “I’ll see you around.” Getting up from his spot at the table, he starts walking to his next class, leaving a very please Oikawa behind him.

 

-

 

The cool air hit his face as he walked into the back room of the store. Various employees were present; some getting ready for their shifts while others were taking a break. He found an empty seat to sit in but his thoughts were interrupted by a loud sound coming from the front of the room.

“Hey hey hey, Haijime! I see your expression is as stone-faced as ever!” A boisterous voice came from the door, and as soon as he looked up he felt a pair of warm arms wrap around him.

“What do you want now, Bokuto?” He threw his arms off of him and turned around to face a pouting Bokuto who looked at him with a disappointed expression on his face.

“Nothing! I just wanna know how your day’s been going so far.” He took a seat right next to him and pulled out a big sandwich to start eating.

“Not much. There’s this new exchange student who sits right in front of me in my physics class. We talked for a few seconds but I can already tell that I’ll be dreading his presence.”

Bokuto laughed and took a big bite out of his sandwich. “Cool! I’ve always wanted to meet an exchange student.”

“You don’t say…”

“What does he look like?”

“Brown eyes, brown fluffy hair, long neck, and extremely disgustingly pretty face.” His face bunched up in discomfort just thinking about him, and he himself pulled out a sandwich to start eating.

“So he looks like that?”

He looked up to see Bokuto pointing to a man who was taking an order at the front counter. He looked just like Oikawa.

In fact, he _was_ Oikawa.

“Holy shit! Is that actually him?”

He ignored Bokuto once again and continued taking bites out of his sandwich as if nothing happened.

“Dude, he’s pretty hot. You should go talk to him.” He choked on his food and shot Bokuto a dirty glare. He just laughed once more and pulled out a soda to start sipping on.

Glancing out the windows of the rest area, he saw Oikawa waving at him through the glass as he waited for his order. “Looks like he’s waving to you. Go on now! You need more friends anyway.”

He playfully smacked Bokuto across the shoulders, causing him to flinch. Begrudgingly, he got up from his very comfortable spot on the chair and made his way to the front of the store.

“Oh hey, Ian! Funny seeing you here.” Oikawa came up to the front of the counter with a wave of his hand as he accepted the food that he ordered. Iwaizumi tried to stay composed as he saw Bokuto giving him looks from the corner of his eye.

“I actually have a favor I need from you and…well…I don’t really know who else to ask.” He said before Iwaizumi even had the chance to say something, “Since I arrived in the middle of the school year, all my professors said it would be preferred if I caught up, so I was wondering if you could help me catch up a little bit!”

He surveyed his face, looking for any hints of a different purpose other than solely help with school and found nothing out of the ordinary. He sighed for the umpteenth time that day and made his way to the back room.

“I’ll be right back.”

As he entered, Bokuto immediately rushed up to him to bombard him with questions but he was ignored once again while he went to one of the lockers to bring out his laptop.

“Hey what are you-“

He made his way back out to the front of the store and led Oikawa to an empty table in the corner of the room. They both sat down, and Iwaizumi opened up his laptop to pull up all his past notes.

“I’ll give you all my past notes for you to look over and any assignments that are due within the next few weeks. Do you have an email?”

His face instantly lit up at the statement and he hurriedly gave him his e-mail. He could tell that he was happy that he offered to help him catch up.

For the next hour, the two of them sat down at the table going over notes and discussing any questions or concerns about the class. At some point during their discussion, Bokuto came over and offered them something to drink in which Iwaizumi immediately told him to go away.

Eventually, the store’s closing hours snuck up on them and it was time to go. It seemed as if Oikawa was satisfied with the results of their little consultation.

“Thank you so much, Ian! I’m glad that you-“

“Haijime.”

He turned to him with a confused expression on his face. He himself was a little bit surprised at what he blurted out, but he immediately composed himself.

“Haijime Iwaizumi. That’s my real name.”

Oikawa’s face lit up in surprise. “You’re Japanese too! So is Ian an American name or…”

“Yeah, it’s what I usually go by. Only people I know call me by my real name.”

He could see a noticeable change in his expression as he said those words. A small smile formed on his face as he let out that information, and he had to try and hold in a smile himself.

“That’s so cool Iwa-chan!”

The moment only lasted for a little bit as he was instantaneously disturbed by that ridiculous pet name.

“I'm sorry, what?”

“Can I call you Iwa-chan?”

“No.”

“Please!”

“No.”

“Please?”

“I said no.”

“But Iwa-chan…”

“Fine, whatever you want, Shittykawa.”

His mouth opened with protest at the nickname, but before any of them could say something, Iwaizumi’s manager told them that they were closing and that they need to get out of the store.

They both walked for a while until Oikawa came to a sudden stop.

“Can I have your number? Just in case I have any more questions.”

He tried not to choke on air as he too came to a stop. Reluctantly, he gave him his number and tried to ignore the fast rate his heart was beating at in his chest.

“Thank you. Good night Iwa-chan, see you tomorrow!”

He stood there watching his retreating back as his figure became progressively undistinguishable in the distance.

He was undeniable, 100% screwed.

-

**3 NEW UNREAD MESSAGE(S)**

_From: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_Hey Iwa-chan! This is Oikawa_ _🤗_

_Sent: 9:39 pm_

_From: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_Goodnight!!!_

_Sent: 10:54 pm_

 

_From: Boss_

_New job request tonight. Make sure you’re prepared._

_Sent: 11:00 pm_

_-_

The warehouse smelled like muck as he approached the rusty entranceway. The dim-lit barrels could be seen at the back of the complex structure. He heard a rustling noise as two familiar figures appeared in his line of sight.

“Oh, well don’t you look like shit.”

He looked up to see Kuroo with a very inattentive Tsukishima behind him. “I could say the same about you too.”

He laughed obnoxiously and took a seat on one of the stools in the center of the warehouse. He too situated himself on one of the stools and watched as Tsukishima pulled out a lighter to start a fire in the center of the circle. Heat engulfed them in the cool night and the air began to smell like charcoal.

“Where are the rest of the guys?”

“Out on a different job. They were looking for you before they left, ya know?”

He scoffed and took out a bottle of alcohol. “Well tell them I’m too busy trying to balance college and a part-time job to put up with their whining. They don’t need me to get what they need to do done.”

Kuroo exhaled deeply and looked up at him. “You are the leader of this little faction here, so don’t act so surprised. Shouldn’t it be an honor to be so admired?”

All he could do was laugh. “I guess you’re right.”

“So…I heard from a little bird that you’re getting close to a certain exchange student. Am I right or am I right?”

He took a half-empty bottle of beer and chucked it at Kuroo, spilling it all over the place. Kuroo ended up falling off of his stool and he swore he saw Tsukishima smirk under the faint light.

“What the hell dude!” He said while struggling to stand back up.

“He’s just some dumb exchange student. How the hell did you even find out anyway?”

“Bo told me.”

“Of course he did.”

“It was just a joke. Besides, you don’t want him turning out the way your-“

“Are we ready or not?” He interrupted, causing them both to flinch.

Taking the hint, they nodded and gestured outside to the black van waiting for them. Before leaving, he walked over to a little cubicle containing all his belongings and grabbed a gun along with some gloves.

“So, what’s the deal with the request?”

Kuroo walked over to a cubicle of his own to start grabbing some of his own stuff. “Not much. At least for now. The boss said the only thing we need to worry about right now is getting information. We’re heading out to this underground bar that supposedly has an important intel supplier.”

“The one that he owns?”

“Yeup.”

“And he wants us to check it out and get as much information as possible?”

“That’s the gist of it.”

Annoyance kitted on his brow, he grabbed the remainder of his stuff and trudged along the floors of the warehouse. As November came to a close, the nights got longer, and the air got colder.  One by one, they filed into the car, and promptly set off into the night.

-

Ultimately, they arrived at their destination. The car pulled up behind to a vacated shopping district and parked in a small, hidden lot towards the back. Hopping out of the car, he was met by a chilling breeze across his face as he surveyed his surroundings. Neon signs illuminated the dark streets, leaving little to no visibility. The concrete ground was littered in all sorts of trash and the smell of cigarettes and alcohol came from the entrance. Loud music was the only thing he could hear despite not having entered the bar yet. A locked, metal door presented itself behind an array of various plants.

“I don’t think you’ve ever entered this way before since you only came here once” Kuroo started, “but this is the secret entryway used when we come here on jobs.” Pulling out a key, he dug it into the keyhole and opened up the door.

“It’s so we’re not held up or tagged by security, in case you were wondering,” Tsukishima added.

The open door led to an extremely sketchy, terribly lit stairwell that intensified the horrific smells by tenfold. The only upside was that along with the scent came a wave of heat which served to be convenient given the frigid weather. It was narrow enough to only fit one person at a time. Kuroo headed inside first with Iwaizumi right behind him and Tsukishima in the back. It didn’t take long for them to reach a hallway that led into the actual bar itself.

It was crowded. Extremely crowded. The vast amount of people made it extremely hard to try and single out an individual from the crowd.

“I sent a picture of the man we’re looking for to both of you,” Tsukishima pulled out his phone to show the message he sent in the group chat, “We’ll split up to look for him. Once you spot him, send a location so we can all meet up.”

The three of them split ways, leaving Iwaizumi all by himself. Upon splitting up, he decided to search towards the front of the bar where all the tables were, right next to the colorful, lit up dance floor. Pulling out his phone, he opened up his messages to determine who he was looking for.

**1 NEW UNREAD MESSAGE(S)**

_From: Tsukishima Kei + 2_

_[image attached]_

An old Hispanic dude with a ton of facial hair and vibrant blue eyes popped up. He appeared to have a thick build, which indicated that he was probably of tall stature. They should have no trouble finding him.

A sizable crowd was cluttered on top of the dance floor, making it hard to maneuver. A quick guess told him that the guy he was looking for probably wasn’t among the people dancing.

Individually, he began assessing each table for any sight of the man. Situated on the dancefloor, he tried is best to blend in with his surroundings and not arise any suspicion. One table, in particular, caught his eye, but not because he saw who he was looking floor. In fact, he saw someone he never wanted to see in a situation like this.

He saw Oikawa.

The man was sat at a table all by himself, casually minding his own business, sipping on what he assumed to be a margarita. Apparently, he stood there in shock for too long because the brunette took notice of him and looked at him in bewilderment.

The words “Iwa-chan” could be read on his lips from a distance as he saw him cock his head to the side in surprise. Although knowing he was on a job, he still found himself making his way over to the table.

“Iwa-chan, what are you doing here?” He asked as he sipped on his drink.

“I could say the same about you. Did you come here alone?”

“Nope! I came here with one of the guys from my host family. He recommended this place to me and said that the drinks were pretty decent,” he gestured to a young man situated on a stool at the bar, obviously waiting for a drink, “What about you?”

“Came here with two friends.” Is all he said before turning around to leave again. Right as was about to go back to what he was doing, a loud gasp startled him out of his thoughts and lead him to turn back around.

“You have a tattoo?!”

Embarrassed, a hand shot up to the back of his neck to cover up the ink that was ingrained deep into his skin. Perched up on his seat, he gawked at him in awe as he tried to get another glimpse of his tattoo.

“It’s no big deal,” he hissed as he tried to leave but was interrupted once more by a harsh tug on his arm, causing him to fall back into the seat across from the very intrigued Oikawa.

“Of course it is! I’ve never seen an actual tattoo in person before. What does it say?”

His pure curiosity was convincing enough for him to sit down against his will and begin explaining.

“It’s the number 1226.”

“Does it mean anything.”

He froze at the question. From across the table, he could see the raw interest in his eyes that motivated him to give an explanation, despite being reluctant to do so.

“It means 1 life 2 live, 26 to die. It’s sort of a philosophy in my life.”

He looked like he wanted a little more of an explanation, but a pat on his shoulder caused the two of them to turn their attention to the source of the hand.

“Kuroo?”

“Oya? And who do we have here?” Looking up, he saw his gaze looking at the direction of where a very confused Oikawa right across from him.

“Just some friend I ran into,” he mumbled, clearly embarrassed at being caught.

Turning to said friend, he shot him and apologetic gaze and proceeded to leave. “Did you find who you were looking for?”

“Nope. Not a single trace. We even looked at all the security footage and there was no sign of him. We could wait a little longer, but my gut feeling tells me that he won’t be coming.”

Uneasiness filled the air on their way back out of the bar. Feeling eyes on the back of his neck, he pictured a stunned Oikawa who was slightly disappointed at his sudden leave.

However, the latter was too busy being taken aback by the matching tattoos on all three of their necks and the outline of a gun in his back pocket to care.

 

-

 

 

_It was dark. That’s all he could see. Darkness. His entire being felt like it was shredded into a million pieces and then put back together again only for it to be set on fire. His throat particularly stood out from the rest when he felt even worse pain coming from his vocal cords. He instinctively went to cough, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move, couldn’t smell, couldn’t see. He probably couldn’t taste either._

_The one thing he could do was hear. He could hear far-off voices as if he was listening to a conversation while underwater._

_“Did Sawamura make it?”_

_“Sadly, he didn’t.”_

_“And how is Haijime?”_

_“Physically? Okay. Just a little bit of strain in the vocal area from all that screaming, plus some fractured ribs. Nothing deadly.”_

_“And mentally?”_

_“That I can’t answer for sure. He passed out from shock and hasn’t woken up for 3 days. The neurologist says he should wake up by the end of the week, and when he does, his mental state can be further determined.”_

_He heard a few more muffled words being exchanged that couldn’t be made out before they started talking clearly again._

_“According to a witness along with the autopsy results, he had taken a bullet for Haijime through the back which hit his spine, instantly paralyzing him, all while throwing Haijime down to the ground.”_

_What the hell are they talking about..._

_“The bullet hit a huge artery, making him die quickly after impact due to a huge amount of blood loss. The impact from throwing Haijime down helped shove the bullet deeper into his body, quickening his death.”_

_Please stop._

_“Did the man have any relation to the shootout at all?”_

_“None. He had zero affiliations with either of the two gangs present. No criminal record either. Not even a single disciplinary mark on any of his school records. The dude was completely clean.”_

_Please make it stop._

_“What was he doing at the scene then? I doubt he was a random passerby given his connection to Haijime.”_

_Make it stop._

_“According to our sources…”_

_Stop._

_“He was Haijime’s boyfriend.”_

STOP.

He jolted upward with a shock, clearly woken up from his sleep. Beads of sweat dripped down his face along with fresh tears that came from his tired eyes. His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest at any given moment, and his breaths were loud and abnormal. His chest heaved up and down as he wheezed out large quantities of air.

He reached for his phone with clammy hands to check the time.

_3:54 am_

It was still early morning, which made him sigh in relief. He lied back down on his bed and closed his eyes, trying to get some more rest before the day started.

 _It was just a dream,_ he told himself, _just a dream…_

He didn’t go back to sleep that night.

-

Right as he thought his day couldn’t get any worse, reality slapped him across the face and told him to get over himself.

Oikawa was avoiding him for some unknown reason, and it was slightly irritating. No matter how many times he told himself how much he hated his presence, deep down it was pretty reassuring. For someone who’s so steadfast on making conversation with him, ignoring him out of the blue raised a lot of questions.

Come lunchtime, instead of eating lunch like he’d like to, he spent the entire duration looking around for that dumb space nerd to try and get some answers out of.

Finally spotting him, he walked over to an isolated bench and situated himself right next to a startled Oikawa who attempted to leave right as he sat down but was promptly pulled right back down.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“…”

“Is there a reason you’re ignoring me?”

“Iwa-chan.”

“What.”

“I really like talking to you.”

“Huh.”

“Sorry! That was a little sudden. You seem like a pretty cool guy to talk to and you’re the only one who really helped me during my transition here.”

“Why would you say something like that right after avoiding me for so long?”

“Avoiding? I wasn’t _avoiding you.”_

 _“_ So what were you doing then?”

“Not avoiding you.”

“You’re still ignoring my question.”

“Am not!”

“If you’re gonna keep avoiding the topic at hand I’ll leave and-“

“Do you own a gun?”

The question was so sudden he almost got whiplash from turning his head around too fast. Sweat began to assemble on his hands and he found himself unable to move. Anticipation swarmed Oikawa’s eyes and he opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

“I’ll take that as a yes…” he accused, his tone suddenly shifting from curiosity to an emotion he couldn’t quite explain in words.

“What encouraged you to ask a question like that?”

“I saw an outline in your back pocket at the bar yesterday that resembled a gun. I just wanted to clarify.”

None of them dared to say another word. A lump formed in his throat and he felt his airway constricting. Neither of them dared to look each other for quite a while. Finally willing to break the silence, Iwaizumi spoke up.

“Do you hate me?”

Chocolate orbs made eye contact with him as they gazed into each other’s eyes. He desperately searched for any signs of hatred or distaste but found nothing of the sort.

“Iwa-chan, of course not! It’s not that I hate you…I’m just…appalled. It was shocking.”

Gasping in relief, he relaxed into the bench and loosens up his tightened features. “Understandable.”

“Plus, we haven’t really talked long enough for me to judge you like that. You probably had your reasons,” he admitted, shooting him a small smile.

“Uh, thanks for that.” He awkwardly coughed into his hands and got up from the bench.

“Anytime.”

 

-

 

**3 NEW UNREAD MESSAGE(S)**

_From: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_Hey Iwa-chan! Would you like to stop by that Japanese food place across the street from the campus for some food sometime?_

_Sent: 11:03 am_

_From: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_I have a few more questions about physics ( > . <)_

_Sent: 11:09 am_

_From: Boss_

_Come to the warehouse at noon. I have some news for you._

_Sent: 11:15 am_

_To: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_I’m free this afternoon_

_Sent: 11:17 am_

_To: Boss_

_I’ll be there_

_Sent: 11:29 am_

-

 

A considerable array of cars were lined up outside the warehouse, more so than usual. Clouds littered the skies, limiting the amount of light available for the dark, unlit entryway. Getting out of his car, he walked along the resounding gravel in the direction of his destination when he saw a blur of a human figure in his peripheral vision. “Hey look! If it isn’t the one and only Iwaizumi Haijime.”

Turning to the source of the unpleasant voice, he saw Kuroo approach him at quite a fast pace whilst rapidly waving his hand at him.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

“Tsukki? He’s asleep in the car. Said he didn’t want to waste his precious sleep time with ‘irrelevant meetings’ if he can just get the information from me.” Laughing, he pointed to his car parked on the other side of the small lot where a presumably asleep Tsukishima Kei lies.

“Poor guy. You have any clue what this is about?”

“Nope. None at all.”

Walking in, they took note of the lack of stools in their usual circular arrangement. In their place was a bunch of people all facing towards one side of the warehouse where the boss was supposedly standing at.

Distant voices grew louder the closer they walked in. From their spot on the far side, they could see their boss very clearly. Black hair messier than usual, his blue-green eyes stood out amongst the poorly lit area and his expressionless face held no emotion as always.

“As you’ve all noticed, I sent a message out to everyone asking if you all could meet up. Thank you to those who came out this morning and it would be much appreciated if you spread the message to those not present this instance. Now, to those who already know, I’ve recently been seeking out a certain source of intel that may be important for some of our future operations,” he looks over at his direction, “Three of our members arrived at a location designated for a meet up with this intel provider and he didn’t show up on time. After checking various surveillance systems, it can be concluded that he didn’t, in fact, show up.”

“Now, this could’ve been a simple case of miscommunication or poor commuting circumstance. Unfortunately, after copious amounts of digging, it was confirmed that he was not misinformed, but rather, he was killed.”

Multiple gasps went off in the crowd. People started talking all at once and suddenly what was once an orderly meeting turned into complete chaos. Some even tried shoving their way out of the huge hoard of people to try and leave.

“Gentlemen, please calm down. This is no time to panic. I called you here to inform you of what happened and to also warn you. No more taking jobs in groups less than 5, and make sure you look after yourselves at all times. The rival gangs are probably trying to incite a war again, but don’t get too scared because I doubt they’ll come from any of you directly. That is all.”

Numerous conversations started up again but were undoubtedly quieter than before. About to take his leave, he started out to the lot but was pulled by his arm away from the crowd to a secluded corner away from the large clumps of people.

He was ready to yank his arm out of the firm grasp but stopped himself once he saw who was dragging him away from the mass of people.

“Boss?”

“I need to talk to you two privately. Where’s Kei?”

“He’s uh, not here?” Kuroo answered sheepishly, not wanting to dive into to real reason as to why he missed such an important meeting. From the expression on the Boss’s face, it seemed as if he already knew the reason.

“Is something the matter, Boss?”

“Boss? Haijime, how many times do I have to tell you that you can call me Keiji,” Akaashi turned to him with a quirked brow, bewilderment present all over his face, “That’s still beside the point. We can discuss that at a later time. For now, I need to talk to you to about something very important.”

“Everything I said up there was true. Every part of it. However, for the sake of their peace of mind, I decided to leave out a tiny bit of information that they don’t really need to worry all that much about. Unknown to most, that source of intel was actually a very close friend of mind. Our friendship dates back all the way to the beginning of high school. Unfortunately, we drifted away for a while after high school, so we weren’t that close anymore.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t worry too much about it. Anyways, my gut instinct tells me that they’re targeting those close to me to try and incite something out of us. Please be careful out there. Koutarou is definitely safe with me, and I know you and Kei have each other’s backs. Haijime, however, lives alone now.” Turning to him, eyes displaying slight concern, he gave him an accusing look that told him he needed to watch his back.

“I know. I’ll be careful.”

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some planning to do.”

 

-

 

_Gasps resonated throughout his living room as Akaashi gave a detailed explanation of the events prior to what ignited their meeting. The faint sunbeams illuminated their faces through the windows, and the walls turned a nice shade of pink from the reflected sunset in the sky. The six of them sat around a white couch, restlessly listening to what each other had to say._

_“He was killed?” Kuroo bellowed, fists clenched in rage. Tsukishima laid a comforting hand on his back in an attempt to calm him down._

_“Unfortunately. It’s such a shame because not only did he know a bunch of key information, but he was also a good man.”_

_“Are there any other sources of intel with similar material?” Iwaizumi prodded, anxiously scratching the back of his neck._

_“None at all.”_

_“Who killed him?” His boyfriend hesitated, unsure as to whether or not he truly wanted to find out._

_“Don’t know the specifics yet, but it was confirmed to be a member of that rival gang who’s been starting up disputes recently. Rest assured, Sawamura, that they won’t be attacking any direct members as of right now. It’s not their style. Just still make sure to watch your backs, alright?”_

_A sigh of relief escaped the latter’s lips as he leaned closer into him, linking arms. The warmth of his presence so close to him sent goosebumps to all parts of his body. Relaxing into his touch, he repeatedly reminded himself that things were going to be okay._

_-_

_To: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_I’m here_

_Sent: 5:26 pm_

 

The Japanese restaurant was lit up with fancy East Asian style lanterns hanging from the ceiling and a beautiful, sunset painted sky that could be seen clearly from the huge windows. Spotting Oikawa in a two seated table against the wall, he walked over and sat down right across from him. The brunette had his textbook opened right in front of him along with a notebook and some pens. After ordering their food, they began going over any physics questions that he had.

“What about figure 6.18? Why is the image displaying something different to the other example?”

“That’s because the other example was talking about the merry-go-round’s frame of reference. Here,” he pointed to an example image at the bottom of the page, “It’s talking about Earth’s point of reference.”

“Oh! That makes much more sense!”

“Anything else?”

“And this?” Pointing to the term _non-inertial frame of reference,_ he looks up at him in anticipation, “it wasn’t in the glossary.”

They spent the majority of their time there either talking about physics or babbling about space-related interests. Even after their food arrived, they two of them found themselves in a constant state of conversing that was comfortable in a way that made Iwaizumi feel at home. Time flew by and it eventually became time for them to head out.

Under the starlit night sky, the duo strolled about on the streets until they hit a fork in their destination, the same place he’d sent Oikawa off after the first time they’d been in a restaurant together.

“Iwa-chan.” His eyes turned to face his, gratitude present in his orbs.

“What?”

“I really like talking to you.”

“Haven’t you said that already?”

“Yeah, but I wanna say it again.”

Turning to him, he widened his eyes in shock upon seeing the contentment written all over his face.  “Shut up shittykawa.”

“Way to ruin the moment!” He pouted, walking off in the opposite direction.

What he didn’t see was the failed attempt to suppressed the smile that formed it’s way up on his face.

-

 

_“I really enjoy talking to you.”_

_The rare December snow covered the ground with flurries as the two walked down the streets of Los Angeles. Haijime glanced over at his boyfriend with disarray and flicked him on the tip of his nose._

_“Where the hell did that come from?”_

_“I don’t know! Okay? The festive atmosphere put me in a sentimental mood.” He shot him a defensive look which only made him smirk._

_Eventually, they stopped to get some hot cocoa and sat down on a bench on the outside of the store. They sat there in a pleasant silence whilst staring out into the star painted sky. He put a hand on his mouth to wipe away the excess chocolate that surrounded his lips, making the two of them laugh._

_“I know I’ve said this a number of times before, but…” Sawamura turned to him with sincerity in his eyes and a small smile on his lips. Returning the smile, he shot a look back at him filled with wholeheartedness._

_“I love you, Haijime.”_

_Leaning forward, their lips met at a common point and he suddenly felt as if he was soaring eye in the heavens above. His entire body was filled with affection and warmth as they held each other close to one another._

_“I love you too.”_

_-_

**5 NEW UNREAD MESSAGE(S)**

 

_From: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_Good morning <3 Are you free this Saturday?_

_Sent: 3:21 pm_

_From: Annoying owl_

_HEY HEY HEY :D How’s my favorite coworker doing!!_

_Sent: 3:19 pm_

_From Annoying owl_

_Akaashi wants to know if you’re free this Saturday_

_Sent: 3:20 pm_

_From: Boss_

_I would like for all of us to meet up. We need to discuss something_

_Sent: 3:15 pm_

_From: Bedhead_

_Boss wants us to meet up. You should bring the exchange student with you_ _😉_

_Sent: 3:43 pm_

_To: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_I’m free. Why?_

_Sent: 3:49 pm_

_From: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_To hang out of course ~(˘_ _▾_ _˘~)_

_Sent: 3:50 pm_

_To: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_We can meet up at my workplace. I’d like you to meet some people._

_Sent: 3:53 pm_

_-_

Seated in a 6-person booth, the two of them found themselves taking part in small talk before the others arrived.

“Who are they?”

“You’ll find out.”

“Do I know them?”

“Stop being so damn impatient, Shittykawa. You’ll find out soon enough.”

As if on cue, the four of his friends entered the building. Spotting where he sat, they all came over to the booth to join them in their conversation.

“Who is this?” Akaashi gestured over in the direction of where Oikawa was sitting, clearly confused. Kuroo and Tsukishima sat next to the said man while Bokuto and Akaashi slid into the seat he was occupying.

“A friend. Everyone, this is Tooru,” he pointed to a very collected looking Oikawa who was waving at everyone with a smile on his face, “Shittykawa, these are the friends I was talking about.”

Pointing to each person individually, he began introducing everyone, “That’s Kuroo and Kei, the same people you saw at the bar that one time. You already know Bokuto, and that’s Keiji.” They each nodded in acknowledgment at his presence. After exchanging greetings, Kuroo started to speak up.

“So, what did you have to tell us?”

Glancing over at Oikawa, Akaashi cleared his throat and began speaking, “Not much, now that I know Haijime has a companion again. We can now take this time to get to know each other a little, don’t you think?”

“Of course! So, Tooru, how’s Haijime treating you?” Kuroo throws an arm around his shoulder and leans close into his face.

“He helps me out a lot with physics stuff that I don’t understand, but sometimes he can be such a bully!”

This made everyone at the table erupt into laughter. At one point in time, Kuroo had slammed his hand against the table so hard it caused all of them to jump up in surprise, making them laugh even harder.

They kept the conversation going for a while after that. It mostly consisted of everyone asking Oikawa a bunch of questions, from how it was being an exchange student to what he liked to do in his free time. Hours went by, and eventually, they had to call an end to their little gathering due to everyone having other plans they needed to attend to.

 

-

 

**2 NEW UNREAD MESSAGE(S)**

_From: Bedhead_

_He reminds me of Sawamura_

_Sent: 8:36 pm_

_From: Boss_

_Tooru really brings backs some old memories. Be careful out there._

_Sent: 8:41 pm_

_To: Bedhead_

_I don’t know what you’re talking about_

_Sent:  8:42 pm_

 

_To: Boss_

_Don’t worry, I will_

_Sent: 8:42 pm_

_From: Bedhead_

_Don’t ignore me like that >:(_

_Sent: 8:44 pm_

_From: Bedhead_

_Just make sure you’re careful out there, alright?_

_Sent: 8:44 pm_

_To: Bedhead_

_Goodnight Kuroo_

_Sent: 8:46 pm_

_-_

The neon street lights and the smell of food really set the mood for their nighttime walk. 

The annual Los Angeles Festival was taking place in mid-December, and Iwaizumi took matters into his own hands and invited Oikawa to the event.

They spent the majority of the day tasting various foods and going on a huge variety of rides, most of which consisted of low-intensity due to the fact that the space nerd was secretly scared of rollercoasters. During the afternoon, they decided to head over to the concert where some god-knows-who band was playing. Despite not taking an interest in such things himself, seeing the joy on Oikawa's face throughout the entire day made things like that worth it, though he'd never actually say something like that out loud.

Come night time, the two of them picked out an empty spot on the grass to watch the firework show from. "Have you ever seen a firework show before?"

"Only on t.v," he explained while laying out the blanket, "the place where I live in Japan doesn't really do those things."

After arranging the blanket to a position they both sought fit, they sat down and began laying out any leftover food that they obtained previously that day. 

Eventually, the firework show started, and a huge array of colors began to paint the dark, night sky. Oikawa's face shone in excitement as each firework shot off, clearly intrigued. He too had to admit that the show was pretty enjoyable. Once it came to an end, they began packing up their things to head out. "Did you enjoy the show?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at him in curiosity. "Yeah! It was really fun," turning to him, he grabbed him by the shoulders so that they were facing each other, "I'm really glad you invited me here."

They both sat there under the stars, gazing into each other’s eyes, none of them bold enough to make a move. Heart pounding in his chest, hands shaking in anticipation, beads of sweat dripping down his back, he found himself subconsciously leaning forward, coincidentally shutting his eyelids in the process.

Lips met his, and for a split second, he felt the entire weight of the world be lifted off of his shoulders. A warm hand came up to the side of his face to cuff his cheek.

“Good night Iwa-chan!”

He sat there absolutely dumbfounded as he watched him pack up his things as if nothing ever happened. The taste of his lips never left his mouth even as he lied in bed that night.

 

-

“Thank you for coming out today.”

Along with Kuroo and Tsukishima, he sat on a rusted crate with blue spray-painted graffiti along the sides. Various crates were scattered around in a semi-circle, and Akaashi stood towards the center. Instead of being in their usual spot at the warehouse, they were seated in a vacant parking a few miles away.

“I received news about the killing of our source of intel.”

This immediately caught the attention of those who were present, causing all of their eyes to widen in surprise.

“For real?” Tsukishima perks up an eyebrow at him

“Yes. Turns out I was correct. One of the rival gangs in the area is trying to incite some problems. Although it’s not known which one it is, we finally have a name and a place.”

“Why not his face?” Kuroo speaks up, clearly puzzled.

“Not only did security footage fail to pick up on it, but the guy has zero records on himself that would reveal such information. Anyways, our source of intel was killed at a motel 2 streets down from the bar. Our investigators say he was misinformed on the meetup location and was killed on site.”

Everyone fell silent at his words, the atmosphere suddenly turning serious. Akaashi surveyed them all with a look of concern before continuing on again. “His name is Brancelone Moretti, but he goes by the American name, Brian. Going by his full name, it can be assumed that he’s a part of the Italian mafia, but since we don’t have any actual evidence, it’s best not to assume.”

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he coughed out a huge breath of air before speaking up. “Do you know who’s next on his list?”

“No clue at all. That’s why I summoned you all today. Not only did I not want to convey such information through online messaging, but I wanted to make sure that you all were safe. Didn’t want to take any chances.”

The solemnity in his tone sent chills down his spine. A quick glimpse around the lot reassured him that they all felt the same seriousness of the situation.

“As I said before, he probably won’t come for any of you guys directly. The sources all say that the next victim is most likely going to be one of the two remaining main information sources who also happen to be close friends of mine, and they’re already well aware of that so they’ve been given extra security. That’s all I have for today. I told some of the other guys to cover for the job offer that you got for tonight. You all should get some rest.”

With that, he left them with a wave and a small goodbye on his lips. The rest of them said their goodbyes too, and he set off in the direction of his apartment with a feeling of dread deep in his stomach.

 

-

**1 NEW UNREAD MESSAGE(S)**

 

From: _Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_Can I come over tomorrow? There’s some stuff I need to go over for the exams_ _ᕙ_ _(_ _⇀_ _‸_ _↼_ _‶_ _)_ _ᕗ_

_Sent: 11:26 am_

 

_To: Tooru_ _（＾_ _ω_ _＾）_

_Sure_

_Sent: 11:31 am_

 

The sound of knocks on a door jarred him out of his thoughts. Getting up from the couch, he walked over the door, and upon opening it he was met with the sight of Oikawa with a backpack on his back and a cup of coffee in his hands.

“Good morning Iwa-chan! What a nice place you have here.” He walked inside the apartment and looked around the room. Setting his belongings down on the table, along with his legs, he plopped himself on a spot on his white couch and began making himself at home.

“Well don’t you look comfortable?” Smirking, he sat down next to him and playfully slapped him across the shoulders.

“Ouch! What the hell was that for?”

Pulling out the textbook from his backpack, he turned to him. “You came here to study for the exam tomorrow, not to lounge around.”

With a pout, Oikawa took his feet off the table. “So strict! How am I supposed to enjoy studying if you won’t let me relax? Also, if you read my recent text, you’d know that I also asked if we could watch a movie afterward, but you didn’t answer!” He chastised, pulling out a notebook and some pens from his backpack to spread out across the table.

“My phone was on silence, dumbass.” Pulling out his phone, he went to go check what Oikawa had texted him but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the sheer number of unread messages that had flooded his phone.

**352 NEW UNREAD MESSAGE(S)**

_What the hell?_

“Oi, Shittykawa, did you send me over 300 messages?” He speculated, shooting him an accusatory glare. “Huh? What are you talking about? I only sent you one.”

Sighing in discontent, he shoves his phone back into his pocket and continued on with the task at hand. They spent about 20 minutes of studying before Oikawa had to get up to go to the bathroom. “It’s down that main hall, first door to your right,” he pointed to a white door on the hallway that was located between the living room and the kitchen. “Thanks, Iwa-chan!”

Once the former was inside the bathroom walls, he took it upon himself to try and organize some key notes that might be helpful. About 2 minutes in, he heard a loud knocking sound coming from his door.

_Knock knock knock_

“Coming.”

Walking over to the door, he opens it to a tall man with a black fedora and a long grey coat.  He looked to be about 30 years old with minimal facial hair and a youthful face.

“How can I help you, sir?”

“Ah, hello! I’m the new resident from across the hall. Is it alright if I give you a gift? I’m trying to acquaint myself with the people along my hallway. Do you mind?” He questioned, holding up a neatly wrapped box that smelled of freshly baked pie.

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Thank you so much!”

“When did you move in?”

“3 days ago! I’m the door two doors down and to the left form yours. Here,” he nudged the encased pie in the direction of his hands, indicating that he should take it.

“What is this?” He asked, taking the box in his hands.

“Apple pie!”

“Cool. Thanks for the gift man. Hope you enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you!”

Shutting the door behind him, he made his way over to the kitchen to place the pie on the countertop. The sound of footsteps could be heard from the bathroom, and he looked up to see a baffled-looking Oikawa. “What’s that?” He pointed to the mysterious box.

“Oh, it’s just a gift from a new neighbor.”

“Oh really? Let me see!” Running over to the kitchen, he started to examine the box.

“What’s inside?” He prodded, curiously poking at the sides.

Slapping his hand away, he shot him a glare. “Apple pie.”

“Ooh, I’ve always wanted to try apple pie! Do you know who your new neighbor is?” Against Iwaizumi’s will, he began poking around at the box once again, eager to find out more. “No, actually, I don’t.”

Glimpsing over at Oikawa, he watched his eye’s lit up in recognition as he snatched a narrow piece of paper from the bottom of the box. “Maybe he introduced himself on here,” he urged, poking him with the said note.

He grabbed it out of his hands and opened it up to read it. About twice the size of his finger, the small letter carried a short amount of words written in a very deep font.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Dear new neighbor,_

 

_I’m so happy to be able to move here! As I transition in, it would be wonderful if I can get to know my fellow floormates. Have a nice day :)_

 

_Sincerely,_

_Brian_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

 

Oh no.

The last thing he heard before falling to the floor was a distressed “Iwa-chan, watch out!” followed by the deafening bang of a gun being fired off. Pain shot through his head as it came in contact with the tiled ground, making him hiss in agony. A large crashing sound came from the other side of him as a bunch of materialistic items fell off the table to the ground.

The shadow of a man running could be seen from the entrance of the apartment. What was once his door was now a pile of splintered wood all across his carpet. Screams could be heard from outside his walls as people were probably wondering what was going on. With a grunt, he managed to haul himself off of the ground and stand up with the help of the kitchen table. “Hey shittykawa, you alright?”

“...”

“Oikawa?”

No answer

In a panic, he managed to drag his feet towards the other end of the counter. The silhouette of a motionless body could be seen against the cabinets located on the floor.

“Tooru?”

With a final burst of energy, he threw himself onto the ground next to a frozen Oikawa who’s body was flat on its stomach lying in his kitchen floor. What caught his eye wasn’t the pieces of a broken mug a few inches away or the fallen pie that rests squashed up on one of the chairs, but the mass of red that stained the back of his shirt.

“Tooru!”

Scared, he violently shook the lifeless body, desperate to get a response out of him. The more he rocked the body, the farther the red on his shirt spread. Tears pooled in his eyes as he helplessly kneeled on the ground next to him, unable to do anything to help.

“Oi, shittykawa, you better wake up!”

Quick on his feet, he sprinted to the other end of the kitchen for a towel and quickly placed it back down on his back in an attempt to stop too much blood from seeping out.

 _Please be okay,_ he thought, _please be okay..._

A barely audible groan from the man startled him out of his panicked daze. “Tooru? Tooru can you hear me?”

“H-Haijime…” he croaked, still not opening his eyes

“Yeah?” Reaching down to grab his hand, he gave him a squeeze of reassurance. A   squeeze in reply was the last thing he got before Oikawa passed out.

“I love you…”

-

_Beep…_

_Beep…_

_Beep…_

_The sounds of the heart monitor were the only audible noises in the otherwise dead silent hospital room. Iwaizumi sat restlessly in the hospital chair next to a bed that was occupying his boyfriend. Hands clasped together, he laid his head down on his chest to get a personal feel for his heartbeat, the only thing signifying that he was still alive._

_“How is he?” Akaashi questioned while entering the room with a mysterious takeout bag in his hand. Laying it down on the table, he sat down on the opposite side of his bed and studied the man intently._

_“The MRI results haven’t been released to us yet, so I don’t know.” He mewled, anxiously glancing at the door for any signs of a doctor._

_“And you?”_

_Raising his head from his chest, he met Akaashi’s concerned eyes. “Fine.”_

_The said man looked like he wanted a more detailed version of the answer, but the two of them were stunned out of their conversation by an alarmingly loud beeping noise coming from the heart monitor._

_“What’s happening?”_

_“Hit the red button!”_

_In a frenzied panic, he rushed over to the big red button and slammed his hand against it. Almost immediately after did a swarm of doctors come rushing through the doors, all yelling orders at each other simultaneously. One of them even got up on top of the bed to start pressing her hands against his chest. She was giving him CPR._

_“What’s going on? Is he okay?” He yelled in disarray, trying to be heard over the chaotic voices of the doctors._

_“He’s going into cardiac arrest.”_

_“Doesn’t have a pulse!”_

_“Someone perform CPR.”_

_“Already on it.”_

_“Is it working?”_

_“No!”_

_“Someone help her out!”_

_“Should we give him a charge?”_

_“It’s too late.”_

_A roaring, steadfast beep brought all chatter to an end as they watch the heart monitor flatline. Iwaizumi stood still as a statue, too shocked to move a single inch. He watched helplessly as the doctors pulled a white sheet over his boyfriend’s body._

_“Daichi Sawamura. Time of death: 10:34 pm. May he rest in peace.”_

_One by one, the doctors solemnly made their way out of their room, each respectively saying their goodbyes before they left. Falling down to his knees, he prepared himself for the sobbing session that never came. Instead, he knelt there as emotionless as a statue, unable to comprehend the events that just went down._

_“Haijime?” Akaashi walked over to him with worry in his tone. Putting a hand on his shoulder, he tried shaking him out of his shock._

_“Haijime?”_

_“Haijime!”_

“Haijime”

Shooting up from the hospital bed in surprise, he almost flung himself off the chair from the sheer amount of force. Upon doing so, his head instantaneously throbbed in pain, causing him to wimp. Confused, he glanced around his surroundings in an attempt to find out where he was.

Sitting in a foldable chair, his arms were leaning against a hospitable bed that was occupied by someone. From the vast number of machines and the harsh smell of medicine, he could conclude that he was in a hospital room.

“Are you alright?”

Akaashi’s voice startled him out of his thoughts, causing him to flinch. Hand on his shoulder, he stared into his eyes with worry etched in his brow. Finally coming to his senses, he took notice of Kuroo, Bokuto, and even a delirious looking Tsukishima who were all sharing similar looks of concern. “What happened?”

“You were shaking uncontrollably. I had to disturb you from your thoughts in order to prevent Tooru from any disturbances.”

At the mention of his name, he shot up in his seat in hysteria. “Is the bastard space nerd okay? Did Tooru make it? Please tell me he didn’t-“

“I’m right here, Iwa-chan!”

The sound of his voice stopped him dead in his tracks. Turning around, he gazed at a very tired looking Oikawa who was staring at him in amusement.

“You’re alive!”

“Of course, I am you brute. What could you ever do without me?” He joked, causing his eye to twitch in irritability. Suppressing the urge to smack him on the spot, he sat back down in his seat.

“I think you two need some time alone,” Kuroo spoke up, gesturing for the four of them to leave the room.

Once empty, Iwaizumi took it as the perfect opportunity to speak up. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes! The surgery was a success and the doctor said I had a 100% chance of full recovery! Apparently, it missed all important organs and-wait, why are you crying?"

Not even realizing he was crying, he hastily wiped the sudden tears off his face, embarrassed by the sudden breakdown. His past memories of his boyfriend flooded his mind at once, and he was relieved that he'd finally achieved a happy outcome. "It's nothing."

"Don't give me that! There's obviously something else bothering you?" He hinted, desperately trying to get him to give a further explanation. 

"It's a long story."

"Well, it's a good thing we have all the time in the world!"

****

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> WELL THAT WAS UH...SOMETHING. SINCE THIS FIC WAS WRITTEN IN A RUSH AND IM NOT QUITE SATISFIED WITH THE ENDING, IM PLANNING ON WRITING A SEQUAL SO STAY TUNED FOR THAT :D


End file.
